TUESDAY SPARKS: “SAME BEACH, NEXT YEAR”

Today’s feature is a recent download, a perfect summer read: Same Beach, Next Year (e-book), by Dorothea Benton Frank, a bewitching story of marriage, love, family, and friendship that is infused with her warm and engaging earthy humor and generous heart.

Intro: (Prologue – Isle of Palms, South Carolina, 2016)

The conversation that launched my need to tell you this whole crazy story actually came from our son Luke, who, like his twin, is practically an adult. Okay, they areadults. But only because of their age, which is still completely astonishing to me. How dare they grow up and make us, God help us, almost sixty? Some nerve.

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Teaser: (Adam)

Our condos had the same floor plans but hers was absent any crown molding or shiplap. And our fireplace was bigger. Still, they rented for the same money. As soon as Carl and Eliza’s cars were gone I walked back over to Eve’s. (46%).

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Synopsis: One enchanted summer, two couples begin a friendship that will last more than twenty years and transform their lives.

A chance meeting on the Isle of Palms, one of Charleston’s most stunning barrier islands, brings former sweethearts, Adam Stanley and Eve Landers together again. Their respective spouses, Eliza and Carl, fight sparks of jealousy flaring from their imagined rekindling of old flames. As Adam and Eve get caught up on their lives, their partners strike up a deep friendship—and flirt with an unexpected attraction—of their own.

Year after year, Adam, Eliza, Eve, and Carl eagerly await their reunion at Wild Dunes, a condominium complex at the island’s tip end, where they grow closer with each passing day, building a friendship that will withstand financial catastrophe, family tragedy, and devastating heartbreak. The devotion and love they share will help them weather the vagaries of time and enrich their lives as circumstances change, their children grow up and leave home, and their twilight years approach.

Adam and Eve? Really? I’ve never read anything by Dorothea Benton Frank, but I’ve had several of her books recommended to me by a cousin who’s read all her books. They do sound like fun reads, especially this one. I would definitely keep reading. Enjoy!